Deep Hole

Deep Hole is a karst sink located in Myakka River State Park, Sarasota County, Florida.

Lake levels exhibit pronounced depth variation from wet to dry season and Deep Hole is a refuge for wildlife during the dry season. Prior studies of river rocks estimated the age of the Myakka River basin at several million years although the formation period for Deep Hole is unknown.

Notably, evidence for one of the earliest documented human settlements in the area now defined as the United States occurs within the Myakka River basin from two sinkhole features, Warm Mineral Springs (WMS) and Little Salt Spring (LSS) which yielded artifacts that have established human habitation in the area to 10,000 – 12,000 years before present.